AUSTIN, Texas — Texans gathered outside the Capitol on Tuesday to ask lawmakers to pass stricter gun legislation. More than 50 people affected by the mass shooting in Uvalde were there. They’ve been calling on lawmakers to pass stronger gun laws since the shooting last May, but nothing has been done. 

Arnulfo Reyes was a teacher at Robb Elementary School, where a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers. That was nine months ago; but for Reyes, the memories are still fresh. 

“The active shooter going into the classrooms and shooting. And being shot myself, and then him shooting my students,” he said.  

Reyes survived a shot to the arm and another in his back. He has not returned to teaching; he's trying to take care of his physical and mental health. And, he's due for another surgery to remove scar tissue in his left arm.

Reyes and others came to the Capitol on Tuesday to be a voice for those who died. They hope lawmakers consider tightening gun laws.

“That's my goal here," he said. "If I can do something for one of the senators, legislators to change their mind, then I did my job,” he said. 

A group of Democratic senators has filed a bill to raise the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon to 21, require background checks for all firearm sales, require a “cooling off” period of 72 hours after the purchase of a firearm and allow the temporary removal of firearms from those who are an imminent danger to themselves or others.

"We feel that these are common-sense gun laws," said Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin. "They are supported by a majority of Texans, and we feel that we need to pass this. This is a historic session. Let's get it done."

But Republicans likely won’t go for any of these proposals. Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, has cautioned against infringing upon Second Amendment rights. 

“We've got to be really careful about just restrictions that we placed on honest, law-abiding Texans because of the actions of the sinister and the evil,” he said. "We also know that restrictions related to age also will restrict those that maybe are the only persons in the household that can take care of those that can't take care of themselves. And so we just want to make sure that Second Amendment rights are paramount and that they're protected for honest, law-abiding Texans first."

Members of the GOP have instead advocated for hardening schools and increasing mental health resources. Sen. Creighton has a bill to put panic buttons in every Texas classroom. 

“We need to make sure that our schools have the technology necessary for a fast response for law enforcement,” Sen. Creighton said in a recent interview with Capital Tonight. “Seconds matter.” 

But many Democrats feel that hardening schools isn't a real solution to the problem.

"Hardening schools doesn't help you after your child has been murdered," Sen. Eckhardt said. "Hardening churches doesn't help you after your fellow parishioner was murdered in front of your eyes... so this is not good policy. This is [an attempt] to look good without doing any good.” 

Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, wore all black to the Capitol on Tuesday in mourning of the lives lost to gun violence. She has filed several bills that aim to tighten gun laws in Texas. But if her goals can't be achieved with Republicans in control, she says she does support building secure vestibules at the entryway of schools.

"That's the kind of hardening that I can get behind," she said. "Having the school office know who's entering the school premises is OK. I also think we need to have mental health counselors in our schools. I've heard from so many teachers that they're at schools that have no mental health counselors at all. So we definitely need to improve the funding so that they can have those counselors to help students that are dealing with difficult issues and stress and anxiety." 

Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, has said he's dedicating this legislative session to the families of Uvalde. He said Tuesday's visit was the fourth time they've come to Austin to ask lawmakers for help.

"Continuing to advocate is the most important thing, so that, hopefully, somehow, we get into the hearts and minds of Republican legislators," Sen. Gutierrez said. "Let them know that what these people are asking for is common-sense gun safety. Not trying to take anybody's guns away. They're here so that never happens to another child again."

Sen. Gutierrez said he's spoken with Republicans who are susceptible to the idea of increasing the age to purchase an assault-style rifle from 18 to 21.

"They still want to remain nameless," he said. "I think that they're still concerned about the right wing of their party, and I understand that. And I implore people on the right to understand that we're not trying to take your guns away. We're just trying to make your kids safer in school." 

Gun Owners of America (GOA) is supporting a bill that would allow teachers to carry a handgun on campus without school approval.

Senator Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, speaks in front of several people impacted by the Uvalde massacre last May, which left 19 students and two teachers dead. (Spectrum News 1/Charlotte Scott)

“When we look at the Uvalde video, the anti-gunners look at it and say, ‘See, this is the reason we need more gun control.’ But when we look at that video, we see 19 kids and two teachers who [had] no one there to defend them,” said Wes Virdell, the Texas State director for GOA. "And then when the people that should have defended them showed up, nothing happened either. So they laid there until they died, which is terrible. Taking guns away from people is not going to solve the problem. And so the license to carry for teachers [bill] is something that we support." 

But Reyes said he doesn't want to carry a gun on campus. And if that law passes, he doesn’t know if he’ll ever go back to teaching. 

“Guns don’t have a place in school," Reyes said.

He and the other advocates say they’ll keep coming to the Texas Capitol until gun legislation passes, but that day may be a long way away. 

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